Non-Scholarship Tertiary Students Opt For Loans Or Work Part Time In S'pore

By Tengku Noor Shamsiah Tengku Abdullah SINGAPORE, May 2 (Bernama) -- Educations plays a pivotal role in nation building and, like Malaysia, the Singapore government subsidises a large proportion of university education through grants and supplements with a full range of financial assistance schemes, including loans and bursaries. Not all who enter university here will get scholarships and those without such financial assistance will have to resort to working part-time or securing bank loans to see them through in their studies. Tommy Lai, who is in his second year in a private tertiary institution, says that he has to work part time to cope with the financial constraints to fund his studies. "But I don't mind as long as the qualification I get will make me more marketable," he adds. Lisa Tan, like several other Singaporeans enrolled in private universities, also does part time jobs like Lai. She says the university she studies in gets a 55 per cent fee subsidy from the government. "But I don't mind working as long as I can be successful and gain a good career in the future," she adds. The Minister of State for Education, Lawrence Wong, said recently that as the country's economy grows in scale and sophistication, more Singaporeans with high-level skills are needed and the government also had to meet the strong aspirations of young Singaporeans for a degree. At present, students in the publicly-funded universities can take out interest-free loans to pay for their tuition fees. They start paying interest once they graduate. Private university students have access only to bank loans that charge an average five per cent interest. The Straits Times had reported that around 40,000 Singaporeans and permanent residents are enrolled in private degree programmes, and 60,000 are pursuing private diplomas that lead to degree programmes. Wong noted that in some countries like America, Canada and the United Kingdom, university education is financed largely through student loans. To reduce the financial burden on students, many such loans are subsidised by their respective governments, whether in the form of lower interest rates, or extended interest-free repayment periods. The minister, who heads a 15-member committee, said they are studying these ideas to see if they can adapt and apply them in the Singaporean context, to make loan schemes more attractive as an additional source of financing for university education, on top of the direct grants and bursaries provided by the government. There are four publicly funded universities -- the National University of Singapore, the Nanyang Technological University, the Singapore Management University and the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). For the past several years, applications to local public universities have exceeded 50,000 annually but only about 12,000 students get admitted. The increase in demand for tertiary education has pushed up the number of Singaporeans pursuing degrees and diplomas at private universities and colleges to more than 100,000 annually. Private institutions also offer a variety of undergraduate scholarships and bursaries for outstanding academic achievement, leadership qualities and special talents, while the needy students can apply for financial aid which will be offered if they meet the criteria. The financial aid package is based on the recognition that university education is a partnership involving the students, their families and universities. Various financial institutions do offer the Tuition Fee Loan (TFL) to students who enter university, provided there is a guarantor. TFL is interest-free during the course of study. Interest will commence one month after graduation. Repayment will commence either 12 or 24 months after the interest commencement date. For students who withdraw from the course of study, repayment will commence immediately upon withdrawal. --BERNAMA